STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1251

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1217

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1217, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to limit use of the expedited land use approval process to "lower-cost" housing projects, defined as projects in which all units are at or below one hundred forty per cent of the area median income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH), Department of Community Services and Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, Office of Housing and Community Development of the County of Hawaii, Kaanapali Development Corp., Maui Contractors Association, and an individual.

Your Committee finds that the proposed limitation upon the use of the expedited land use approval would discourage the development of affordable housing projects, including mixed income housing projects that require the inclusion of market-priced units to generate sufficient revenues to support financing.

Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with the substance of S.B. No. 117, S.B. No. 179, S.D. 3, S.B. 1717, S.D. 1, and S.B. No. 1851, S.D. 2. Your Committee also inserted the substantive contents of S.B. No. 1010, S.D. 1, but left blank the specific price thresholds that trigger the imposition of the proposed conveyance tax and deleted language requiring the tax revenues to be paid to HCDCH for deposit into the Housing Finance Revolving Fund. All of the above measures were previously considered and approved for passage by your Committee.

As amended, this measure:

(1) Clarifies the authority of HCDCH to amend developer agreements entered into by one of its predecessor agencies, the Housing Finance and Development Corporation;

(2) Requires HCDCH to hold public hearings on proposed housing projects in the community, development, or community development plan where the projects are to be located, and extends the period for county review of a project from forty-five days to sixty days;

(3) Establishes an alternative conveyance tax on the sale of residential condominiums and single family homes that sell at or above a yet to be determined sales price;

(4) Appropriates unspecified amounts from the Emergency and Budget Reserve fund for homeless and transitional housing projects on Kauai, Hawaii, and Maui, and for self help projects in all counties;

(5) Appropriates an unspecified amount of general revenues for the homeless shelter stipend program; and

(6) Takes effect upon approval, subject to the conveyance tax provision taking effect on September 1, 2005, and the appropriation provisions taking effect on July 1, 2005.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1217, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1217, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing,

____________________________

RON MENOR, Chair